are modern players better than the teams from the 1980s/1990s best xi?

[BlondeArtist - karl.thornhill@gmail.com]

1980s
-------Schumacher---------
Passarella-Matthaus-Baresi-Bremer
-------- -socrates----zico-------
----platini-maradona-m laudrup
-- van basten---

subs
scirea, rijkaard, fernandez, guillet, stielike, klinsmann

NOTE: I know there is no defensive midfielder but how can anyone drop socrates or zico?

1990s
-------Schmeical------------
thuram--nesta-----stam---maldini
figo---sammer---zidane---stojkovic
------ronaldo---batistuta---------

subs
cafu, roberto carlos, koeman, keane, hagi, stoichkov, romario

in my eyes the game was slower but they wouldnt beat the teams of the 80s or 90s. they would never get the ball.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Big fan of Matthaus but he only became a sweeper late in his career. He was a midfielder all through the 80's/early 90's, and an attacking one at that.

Surely to compare though you need to post your team of the 00's?

 

[davek]

The teams of different eras almost literally played a different game to one another. The rule changes made teams with more attacking personnel better placed to be more successful as we moved through the 90s; and then the recent changes have made football almost a non-contact sport, so that again would have changed the ability to thrive.

It's impossible to make a comparison across the years. There's no metric for it.

 

[dirk]

Neville southall was the best goalkeeper for the best part of ten years and peter schmiechel although a good goalkeeper wasn't fit to lace his boots

 

[tommye]

Neville southall was the best goalkeeper for the best part of ten years and peter schmiechel although a good goalkeeper wasn't fit to lace his boots

this all day long.




Neville was untouchable. Nobody gets close.

 

[evilwebby]

The thing is that the pace of the game is electrifying now. Pitches are faster, balls are different. I think talent-wise teams from different eras cannot be separated, but I find it hard to see how a team of the 70s or 80s could keep up the pace with the modern game for 95 minutes. Sports science moves on, and at least one thing you can say with all the money in football now that all the top players have incredible fitness. Jan Molby would not have made it to the top in the modern game..

 

[sheeds]

The teams of different eras almost literally played a different game to one another. The rule changes made teams with more attacking personnel better placed to be more successful as we moved through the 90s; and then the recent changes have made football almost a non-contact sport, so that again would have changed the ability to thrive.

It's impossible to make a comparison across the years. There's no metric for it.

The thing is that the pace of the game is electrifying now. Pitches are faster, balls are different. I think talent-wise teams from different eras cannot be separated, but I find it hard to see how a team of the 70s or 80s could keep up the pace with the modern game for 95 minutes. Sports science moves on, and at least one thing you can say with all the money in football now that all the top players have incredible fitness. Jan Molby would not have made it to the top in the modern game..

Agree with both if these posts , era comparisons are do difficult . A striker now may be quicker , certainly more athletic and possibly more skilful so a player from 84 might be miles off the pace if dropped into a starting XI now . However drop a skilful player who plies his trade on a carpet like pitch almost unused to any tackle where McManaman & Aguero are (rightly ) nationally pilloried and watch a DVD of our title wining sides particularly that Bayern Munich semi and look at the challenges flying in and imagine some of these skilful players in a similar enviroment on a pitch like the baseball ground.

For me that's why it's almost impossible to compare .

 

[ijjysmith]

I think this team would beat those teams you put up there:

Neuer
Dani Alves
Hummels
Kompany
Baines (that's right I went there sniff it Jordi Alba)
Reus
Schweinsteiger
Iniesta
Xavi
Ronaldo
Messi

Christ knows what formation i've just picked but those were the players my brain came up with. And then I remembered Falcao. and Ibra. And RVP. and Bale. Christ.

 

[Fensta]

How can ya put Schumacher in goal, he was an evil scumbag nearly killing that player in 82 ( think it was 82, not sure ).

 

[Azzurri]

How can ya put Schumacher in goal, he was an evil scumbag nearly killing that player in 82 ( think it was 82, not sure ).

Because he was good at keeping the ball out of the net. If Messi suddenly killed 10 kids he'd still be a boss footballer.

 

[dholliday]

Neville southall was the best goalkeeper for the best part of ten years and peter schmiechel although a good goalkeeper wasn't fit to lace his boots

I agree up to a point. But Schmeichel has the advantage of also excelling in international tournaments (he won Euro 92). Southall being Welsh didn't have much chance to prove he could do similar (much like why we've never seen Giggs on the biggest stage).

It's still a big reason why Messi is not rated as better than Maradona...international success counts for a lot, even if the Champions League is technically a higher quality than the pinnacle of international football, and that's even debatable.

How can ya put Schumacher in goal, he was an evil scumbag nearly killing that player in 82 ( think it was 82, not sure ).

This is a myth built up by anti-German sentiment in English tabloids. Schumacher has been a fine goalkeeper and a fine human being all his life. One time he misjudged rushing out of goal and caught a french player badly. The player was knocked out, but recovered and no damage was done.

The tabloid mainstream press will have you believe all kinds of things if you let them.